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Make the argument..

Unless there’s some secret money somewhere for a coach that is an absolute slam dunk, you have to bring Sanchez back & hope for the best. It’s a risk: if he fails, it’s tarp time at the new stadium in 2020. Upside is if he makes a bowl, it’s huge momentum in a new facility
 
Yes it has been consistently poor. He does have veto powers but he can only veto the talent that his assistants find to offer.

With the injury to Dahdashtian I was really expecting one or two of those JC DL's to step up and be a factor. Nope.

My hope is that Skipper having a full year to recruit will start to make a difference, but as you say this year's HS recruits will take several years to pay off. In December the JC commits should start appearing. Three guys from Skipper's first class that I expected to contribute this season didn't much: Malcolm Johnson DE, Salu LB, and JC DB Luca Vartic (who was injured before the season; I think he committed before Skipper was
The biggest problem is failing to take that into account. It may be mediocre by all standards but not at UNLV so you are only begging the question. It's like saying that Bill Snyder didn't do a very good job at Kansas State in his first 4 seasons because it was mediocre compared to the rest of the country. KSU fans wanted him fired after his 4th season where he ended up 5-6 yet in just three more years he led them to finish 6th in the Nation, eventually make them into a Conference Champion and repeatedly a Top 10 team. The fact is that what CTS has done is an improvement for UNLV. That is a fact that answers your very narrow and not very reasonable question with all of the artificially narrow limitations.

Eliminating the facility forces people to argue based off on field results.

Which you know well and good is all people care about.

Great Tony had a rich benefactor.

Win games. Beat teams you should beat.

Nobody is arguing that Coach Sanchez hasn't improved infrastructure.

But if that is all he can hang his hat on for me it's not enough.

I don't buy multiple season tickets to give away to help support the program to watch dudes lift weights. I do it in hope of watching more wins than losses.

If the recruiting is better than it is not wrong to expect the results to reflect that.

They did not.

They were better last year. And you could make a solid argument the 4 wins in year 2 were more impressive and that team was closer to bowl eligibility.

Are there depth issues on defense. Yep. And you know as well as anybody that falls directly on Sanchez.

The real issue is this.

Myself and other diehard fans do not matter. We show up regardless.

Sanchez' job along with winning games was to build some excitement. Win knew fans. This season probably did not do that. Call them bandwagon fans, fair weather fans, whatever. We need them. There aren't enough of us diehards.

Las Vegas in general cares about UNLV football as much now as it did when Sanchez took over, which is to say hardly at all. If the plan/hope is the new stadium is going to cure all the attendance woes, it's a horrible plan. That new car smell wears out quick if the team is still getting its teeth kicked in.

Next seasons schedule on paper is more difficult. If we get another 5-7 season what will the narrative be then?

Can't say facility. Or are we going to get the 'we need another year to see the benefits of the facility narrative'?

I mean damn it, the rebuild has to end some decade doesn't it?

I can be happy about last nights win and have a long enough memory to recall at least 2 losses that would cost most coaches their job.
 
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Eliminating the facility forces people to argue based off on field results.

Which you know well and good is all people care about.

Great Tony had a rich benefactor.

Win games. Beat teams you should beat.

Nobody is arguing that Coach Sanchez hasn't improved infrastructure.

But if that is all he can hang his hat on for me it's not enough.

I don't buy multiple season tickets to give away to help support the program to watch dudes lift weights. I do it in hope of watching more wins than losses.

If the recruiting is better than it is not wrong to expect the results to reflect that.

They did not.

They were better last year. And you could make a solid argument the 4 wins in year 2 were more impressive and that team was closer to bowl eligibility.

Are there depth issues on defense. Yep. And you know as well as anybody that falls directly on Sanchez.

The real issue is this.

Myself and other diehard fans do not matter. We show up regardless.

Sanchez' job along with winning games was to build some excitement. Win knew fans. This season probably did not do that. Call them bandwagon fans, fair weather fans, whatever. We need them. There aren't enough of us diehards.

Las Vegas in general cares about UNLV football as much now as it did when Sanchez took over, which is to say hardly at all. If the plan/hope is the new stadium is going to cure all the attendance woes, it's a horrible plan. That new car smell wears out quick if the team is still getting its teeth kicked in.

Next seasons schedule on paper is more difficult. If we get another 5-7 season what will the narrative be then?

Can't say facility. Or are we going to get the 'we need another year to see the benefits of the facility narrative'?

I mean damn it, the rebuild has to end some decade doesn't it?

I can be happy about last nights win and have a long enough memory to recall at least 2 losses that would cost most coaches their job.

I'm not trying to convince you that the game-day coaching performance has earned the right for CTS to keep his job. It has not. But since CTS is most likely staying (and not just because of the f-word that you say we can't use, but also because of the buyout that raise and extension that TKM gave him through the 2021 season would require) I hope to spread a little optimism around here.

My optimism hedges largely on Skipper. With only two full weeks he brought in the highest ranked defensive class in recent years. This year the six recruits already committed for the '19 class already outrank the '12, '14, and '11 classes (per 247sports rankings):

2019 61.71 as of now (6 commits)
2018 94.64 (13 commits, But 2nd ranked player DT Moa Heimuli was gone by fall camp)
2017 64.40 (9 commits)
2016 88.09 (12 commits, but #1 Tate and #3 Tatum bolted to Fresno a year later when Tedford hired away our assistants)
2015 87.33 (12 commits)
2014 51.23 (8 commits)
2013 67.94 (9 commits)
2012 42.54 (6 commits)
2011 22.26 (10 commits)
2010 87.51 (10 commits)

If Skipper can get the defense to "average MWC" level and the playcalling on offense can improve (see my question earlier on Cotton) then the Rebels should be able to be competitive.

P.S. I hear you on the tickets. Two seats beside me became available so I went from 4 to 6 seats expecting a big year. We never filled more than 4 seats.
 
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The last 3 games of the season are the best that UNLV has looked three games in a row since Sanchez became coach. I will admit the last part of the Hawaii game was a total collapse, but I have seen a glimmer of hope that may spark interest with the casual fans going into next season. The SDSU and unr games were really important wins against arguably two of our three biggest football rivals with Hawaii being the other one!
 
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I'm not trying to convince you that the game-day coaching performance has earned the right for CTS to keep his job. It has not. But since CTS is most likely staying (and not just because of the f-word that you say we can't use, but also because of the buyout that raise and extension that TKM gave him through the 2021 season would require) I hope to spread a little optimism around here.

My optimism hedges largely on Skipper. With only two full weeks he brought in the highest ranked defensive class in recent years. This year the six recruits already committed for the '19 class already outrank the '12, '14, and '11 classes (per 247sports rankings):

2019 61.71 as of now (6 commits)
2018 94.64 (13 commits, But 2nd ranked player DT Moa Heimuli was gone by fall camp)
2017 64.40 (9 commits)
2016 88.09 (12 commits, but #1 Tate and #3 Tatum bolted to Fresno a year later when Tedford hired away our assistants)
2015 87.33 (12 commits)
2014 51.23 (8 commits)
2013 67.94 (9 commits)
2012 42.54 (6 commits)
2011 22.26 (10 commits)
2010 87.51 (10 commits)

If Skipper can get the defense to "average MWC" level and the playcalling on offense can improve (see my question earlier on Cotton) then the Rebels should be able to be competitive.

P.S. I hear you on the tickets. Two seats beside me became available so I went from 4 to 6 seats expecting a big year. We never filled more than 4 seats.

I'm looking for viable arguments. You've made a number of them.

It's a pointless thread really. He'll be back. There's not enough money for the buyout and to pay a new coach/staff.

There are a number of reasons to give him one more year.

And plenty of evidence he should not return.

Unfortunately for UNLV, they can't afford to make a change.

They can't afford another non bowl season either heading into new stadium.

So we're stuck hoping.

As for Cotton. He isn't without flaw. But I think his overall body of work has been good enough to win games.
 
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Sanchez was not ready to be a head football coach at the college level when he was hired, and is still learning on the job with a long ways to go before he will be a good college coach, but UNLV is not willing or able to pay the amount required to get a college coach that can quickly fix all of the problems with UNLV football. The fact is that Sanchez will and is learning from his mistakes, and in the most part the program is very slowly improving, which I will admit is painfully slow, but when is the last time we had a football coach that didn't have multiple two win or less seasons?

Coach Hauck won 2 or less games 4 of his 5 seasons as head coach with one winning season
Coach Sanford won 2 or less games 3 of his 5 seasons as head coach with no winning seasons
Coach Robinson won 2 or less games in his final year as head coach in 6 seasons as head coach, and only had one winning season. (best coach in last 30 years)
Coach Horton won 2 or less games in 3 of his 5 season as head coach with a winning record in only his first season.
Coach Strong won at least 3 games all for years as head coach, but only had one winning season (6-5) and was 3-8 in his final season
Coach Nunnely did the best of any of the coaches with a 6-5 record his first season, but then he dropped to 5 wins the next season and 4 the two seasons after that (in hind site, he should have been given more time)
Coach Hyde was coach for 4 years including 1985 as his last season, but was fired due to a huge problem with the number of players being arrested for crimes due to the type of players he was recruiting.
Prior to that UNLV had several good coaches.

The simple fact is we would need to go all the way back to 1981 and coach Tony Knap (if he was still alive, he would be turning 104 in Decembers) to find a head coach who had any success at UNLV. UNLV has not had any success in 37 years, and this problem will not be fixed quickly without access to a lot of money. Sanchez has fixed the problem regarding funding for facilities, the new stadium will fix the stadium issues. Hopefully Sanchez will continue to improve his coaching skills, recruiting will continue to improve, and next year will be the breakout season which we have not seen in almost 40 YEARS!
 
Eliminating the facility forces people to argue based off on field results.

Which you know well and good is all people care about.....
But you know well and good that facilities have a direct impact upon recruiting and winning, which is all people care about. :boxing:

... have a long enough memory to recall at least 2 losses that would cost most coaches their job.

I'll buy that on the SJSU game but not on the NMU game where we lost our starting QB/ best offensive weapon just before the game and had to start Max with little to no real starting experience. NM appeared to be on its way to an excellent season with the emergence of Sheriron Jones who lit us up but fell backwards severely, along with their offense, after the severe hamstring injury he suffered.
 
But you know well and good that facilities have a direct impact upon recruiting and winning, which is all people care about. :boxing:



I'll buy that on the SJSU game but not on the NMU game where we lost our starting QB/ best offensive weapon just before the game and had to start Max with little to no real starting experience. NM appeared to be on its way to an excellent season with the emergence of Sheriron Jones who lit us up but fell backwards severely, along with their offense, after the severe hamstring injury he suffered.

Facilities do impact recruiting.

However.

They don't call plays.
Don't lift the weights.
Don't evaluate talent.
Don't game plan.

Recruiting on offense has been good. Defense, not so much.

He gets one more year to figure it out.

5-7 should not cut it.

Give me reason for hope.

Give me six wins.

At-Vandy L
At-Northwestern L
At-Wyoming toss-up always tough there.
At-Fresno L
At-CSU toss up. Typically struggle there.
At-Nevada toss up.

Home

Boise L
SUU W
SDSU toss up
Hawaii W
San Jose W
Arkansas State W
 
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But you know well and good that facilities have a direct impact upon recruiting and winning, which is all people care about. :boxing:



I'll buy that on the SJSU game but not on the NMU game where we lost our starting QB/ best offensive weapon just before the game and had to start Max with little to no real starting experience. NM appeared to be on its way to an excellent season with the emergence of Sheriron Jones who lit us up but fell backwards severely, along with their offense, after the severe hamstring injury he suffered.

I can stomach losing to UNM. Not getting beaten like a rented mule though.

That was as bad a defensive performance as I've had the misfortune of witnessing. And having watched UNLV for 20 years now, I know bad defense when I see it.
 
Although they haven’t performed as expected, a good friend of mine that works for the University of Utah and is on staff there with their football program admitted that our offense is way better built all around than Utah’s. Our big guys are bigger. Our skill guys are more skilled. Utah would love to have either of our QB’s in their offense. They’re contending against WA for a Pac title.

The difference is the defense. They have an interior, lb, and a db base that can bang.
 
The biggest problem is failing to take that into account. It may be mediocre by all standards but not at UNLV so you are only begging the question. It's like saying that Bill Snyder didn't do a very good job at Kansas State in his first 4 seasons because it was mediocre compared to the rest of the country. KSU fans wanted him fired after his 4th season where he ended up 5-6 yet in just three more years he led them to finish 6th in the Nation, eventually make them into a Conference Champion and repeatedly a Top 10 team. The fact is that what CTS has done is an improvement for UNLV. That is a fact that answers your very narrow and not very reasonable question with all of the artificially narrow limitations.

I had pretty low expectations for Sanchez.

Honestly tell me if any of this was unfair.

Bowl in year four. (I would have been fine with another 5-7 with Reno win.)
See improved defense.
Cut down on number of blowout losses.

Nope.
Definitely nope.
Nope again.



I do not think that is a ridiculous list by any stretch.

He's coming back. We all know this.

If it's another 5-7 campaign he should be gone.

I hope he's our coach for another 5 years. It would mean things were good.

I have serious doubts.
 
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He has won more games(16) in four years than Hauck did in five(15) and the same as Sanford did in 5.

Touched on this before but...

That is an extremely low bar. But ok.

In turn I could say Hauck won seven and made a bowl.

And Sanford beat a ranked P5 team in Arizona State on the road and beat another P5 team Iowa State the following week.

Sanchez no bowl.
No wins over ranked teams or a P5 school.

Personally I think there is a stronger argument against bringing him back vs bringing him back, but it's a mute point because he is coming back.

With that being the case, I hope he wins 7-8 games next year and is leading UNLV for the next decade. That means the team is winning which is what all of us want.

I'm not rooting against the guy. I want him to win just like I wanted every coach before him to win.

After his first three years, I thought he was the guy. After this year, I'm not so sure. I hope he is.

We'll know next season.
 
Make the argument that Sanchez should be retained if they lose Saturday to Reno.

One rule. You cannot say 'facility' or 'fundraising'.

Knowing UNLV's budget, the cost of Sanchez's buyout, the going rate for coaches (head and asst), I am not convinced we would be a significantly better team if we change coaches. The history of UNLV football is on my side.
 
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I think he is gone and it was decided last year.
We only have 6 games at Sam Boyd and if we are getting same crowds as this year will not work . Attendance excitement and performance absolutely has to increase next year with the new stadium opening 2020. The people with financial interest will want both football programs to be successful . The more overhead cost paid by UNLV football more profit for the operators IE the Raiders.

I believe Sanchez will be gone in 10 days .
Money is being provided from stadium and or Radier people. They will go after a mid ter p-5 coach. This is to allow the new coach to build during the lame duck 2019 season. With more seats , higher price and high media interest at the new stadium . Season tickets and higher attendance is the priority. Another year even with more success with Sanchez will not do it
The season ticket and sponsor push will start next year.
These ar just my thoughts with nothing confirmed. But will surprised if we don’t have a new coach soon. Even if UNLV has to get a payday loan for it. Go Rebels.
 
But you know well and good that facilities have a direct impact upon recruiting and winning, which is all people care about. :boxing:



I'll buy that on the SJSU game but not on the NMU game where we lost our starting QB/ best offensive weapon just before the game and had to start Max with little to no real starting experience. NM appeared to be on its way to an excellent season with the emergence of Sheriron Jones who lit us up but fell backwards severely, along with their offense, after the severe hamstring injury he suffered.


First off Armani was injured in a game before the bye week. They had 2 weeks to prepare with Max.

Max was a high level HS recruit that spent a year at a P5 school. And started a year at JC. He has off the field and on the field experience. Sure he hadn't played at the D1 level, but it's not like UNM was that daunting of an opponent for your first shot. He was a insurance policy for Armani who wasn't ready when he needed to be.

Then being destroyed at home by a bad team when most people were feeling pretty good after a respectable showing in both losses (on the road at USC and on the road to a good Ark St. team). It was crushing. I think all of us said "Same old Rebels" out loud or to ourselves after that loss.
 
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Also I want to be clear that I don't think that Sanchez should be fired. His winning % has been above the UNLV curve and I do believe that most coaches should get 5 years especially at UNLV in all fairness.

I just worry that I don't think it'll happen. I just don't see 6 wins next year. Not enough progress, too many repetitive mistakes, defense won't be good enough yet.

And that worries me because I think the inaugural season of the new season is maybe the most important season in a very long time. We will have more people in the seats just for curiosity sake and it is a huge opportunity to capture much, much needed fans. If there is no excitement and continued disappointment we will lose a once in a program's lifetime opportunity to get much needed revenue generation.
 
Facilities do impact recruiting....

So does financing and funding.

All three of them combined drastically impact

1] The plays that are actually called.
2] Where and how well weights are lifted.
3] Evaluating talent.
4] Game planning
5] Development, specifically including, but not limited to, health & nutrition.

Sorry but it's just not possible to completely separate any of those issues from the basic challenges to UNLV football, i.e., lack of financing/funding, poor facilities, lack of tradition and lack of high quantity & high quality LOYAL local recruiting pool.

I've always considered it to be absurd to set a specific win/loss record as the sole grounds for retaining a HC so no comment on that issue.
 
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I'll have what gripple29 is smokin'
Puff , puff pass. Same stuff I was smoking when the rumor that state money was being asked for the stadium.
Remember this has more to do about future revenue and marketing for the new WestGate Stadium than the Rebels. A rising tide lifts all boats. Go Rebels.
 
The way the season ended actually changed my mind. Rarely do we see a Rebel team that actually improves late in the season. You can make the argument that we shouldn't have ever been that bad to begin with but the last 3 games give me hope and even some excitement about next season. At 2-7 I fully expected the team to pack it up and lose out. They had a couple bad quarters but overall they played hard and looked like a decent team. The team never quit on Sanchez. They played 3 decent/good teams, every game came down to the last possession and they came out on top with 2 wins.

We beat 2 teams this year that finished the season with a winning record (SDSU 7-5, UNR 7-5). The last time we beat 2 winning teams was the 2003 JRob team. To put that in perspective Bobby Hauck beat 1 winning team in 5 years as the coach! Seriously, 1 single win in 2013 vs SDSU.
 
So does financing and funding.

All three of them combined drastically impact

1] The plays that are actually called.
2] Where and how well weights are lifted.
3] Evaluating talent.
4] Game planning
5] Development, specifically including, but not limited to, health & nutrition.

Sorry but it's just not possible to completely separate any of those issues from the basic challenges to UNLV football, i.e., lack of financing/funding, poor facilities, lack of tradition and lack of high quantity & high quality LOYAL local recruiting pool.

I've always considered it to be absurd to set a specific win/loss record as the sole grounds for retaining a HC so no comment on that issue.

Did I set a specific W-L record? Sort of I guess. I said a bowl in year four. Last I checked a coaches job usually hinges on winning games. I mean you had no problem pointing out he had won more games than Hauck or Sanford as a defense. But it's ridiculous for others to think the results on the field and lack of wins is a problem. He had fewer this year than last. He had more double digit losses this year vs last. So basing a job on Ws and Ls is not ridiculous.

Yes facility helps to improve recruiting because it is a shiny bauble you show impressionable 18 year olds.

It does not however do most of the things you said.

1) So play calling changes based on recruits you get? Ok well if you aren't getting the recruits to fit your offense or defense change your offense or defense. Tweak it to what you do have.

2) The weights will now be lifted a few hundred feet from where they were previously lifted. Unless they are getting some new NASA level stuff, I'm pretty sure next offseason I will be seeing tons of GATA! And New Era! Stuff on my Twitter feed showing dudes benching and on squat racks. I mean if there is next level stuff being added then fill us in. I'm not being facetious here, I would be interested to know that. Otherwise its squat racks and benches with a fresh coat of paint. 25lbs is 25lbs.

3) Evaluating talent? Does the facility watch the film or the coaches? Is the clarity of the picture on the new TV monitors that much better? Coaches will better see the players and therefore better evaluate? Is that what the problem has been on defense? Pixels? . How does a facility help a coach evaluate talent. Either you can spot talent or you can't.

4) No. Stop. Same answer as one. You formulate a game plan based on your teams strength and weaknesses and the opponents. If you have better players those strengths and weaknesses change or are improved or reduced. It doesn't however make you better at actual game planning. Just changes what you have to work with.

5) Is correct.

The facility should help to provide Coach Sanchez better pieces to work with.

After being a staunch supporter of Coach Sanchez for three years, I no longer believe he's the guy. To many bad losses. I very well could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. I won't go on Social media or forums if he struggles telling people I told you so! That's rooting against my own interest.

I'm just not sure he can get it done. And if money weren't an issue in my opinion he should have been replaced. There isn't, so he isn't, so all there is now, is wait until next year, just like the previous 20.
 
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3-4-5-4 wins is absolutely mediocre. Shoot, even 3-4-5-6 wins would be pretty mediocre. But I care about progress. 3-4-5-6 is progress. Steady progress.

3-4-5-4 is a one-year regression. A step back. That's why we've all said that 6 wins is the mark next year. But after thinking about it a bit more, I'll say this.

I could actually support bringing CTS back if next season is only a 5-win season with some caveats.

Reminder that this is the schedule next year:

Home games: SUU, Arkansas State, Boise, SDSU, Hawaii, SJSU
Away games: Northwestern, Vandy, CSU, Fresno, Wyoming, Reno

For me to accept 5 wins:
- Beat SUU (avoid embarrassing loss)
- No conference losses by 14+ points (we had 3 this year: 36 vs. UNM, 31 @ USU, 45 vs. Fresno)
- Beat Northwestern or Vandy (beat P-5 school)
- Beat Reno (I don't think I'm alone here: I want that cannon)

What I'm getting at is 5 wins shouldn't cut it, but if somehow Coach Sanchez and the 2019 Rebels can pull off those things from the list, that shows signs of real progress. Not getting blown out by good conference teams like Fresno and Boise. Beat a P5 school. Now, how he could accomplish those things yet not get to 6 wins would be pretty baffling, but hypothetically I can imagine a 5-win season that wouldn't sting as bad.
 
And since we're looking at the schedule, I don't see how people are saying that the schedule is too tough for 6 wins. (This year's record in parentheses)

WINNABLE GAMES:
vs. SUU (1-10)
vs. Arkansas State (8-4)
vs. SDSU (7-5)
vs. Hawaii (8-5)
vs. SJSU (1-11)
@ Vandy (6-6)
@ CSU (3-9)
@ Wyoming (6-6)
@ Reno (7-5)

LOSSES:
vs. Boise State (10-2)
@ Northwestern (8-4)
@ Fresno (10-2)

Having 9 winnable games on the slate is manageable. Sure, if we play like we did against UNM or SJSU that list shrinks drastically. But if the team can put together more games like we saw @ SDSU, @ Hawaii, and vs. Reno we've got plenty of opportunities to get 6.
 
3-4-5-4 wins is absolutely mediocre. Shoot, even 3-4-5-6 wins would be pretty mediocre. But I care about progress. 3-4-5-6 is progress. Steady progress.

3-4-5-4 is a one-year regression. A step back. That's why we've all said that 6 wins is the mark next year. But after thinking about it a bit more, I'll say this.

I could actually support bringing CTS back if next season is only a 5-win season with some caveats.

Reminder that this is the schedule next year:

Home games: SUU, Arkansas State, Boise, SDSU, Hawaii, SJSU
Away games: Northwestern, Vandy, CSU, Fresno, Wyoming, Reno

For me to accept 5 wins:
- Beat SUU (avoid embarrassing loss)
- No conference losses by 14+ points (we had 3 this year: 36 vs. UNM, 31 @ USU, 45 vs. Fresno)
- Beat Northwestern or Vandy (beat P-5 school)
- Beat Reno (I don't think I'm alone here: I want that cannon)

What I'm getting at is 5 wins shouldn't cut it, but if somehow Coach Sanchez and the 2019 Rebels can pull off those things from the list, that shows signs of real progress. Not getting blown out by good conference teams like Fresno and Boise. Beat a P5 school. Now, how he could accomplish those things yet not get to 6 wins would be pretty baffling, but hypothetically I can imagine a 5-win season that wouldn't sting as bad.

If people are going to use Sanford and Hauck as examples of how Sanchez is doing better based on wins, it's also more than fair to say or point out Sanford had 2 P5 wins and beat a ranked opponent, and Hauck made a bowl. Call it lightning in a bottle whatever. Fact remains, he won seven games against a similar schedule.

I think your list is fair.

Personally I'm beyond the point of excusing 5 wins.

Make a bowl. That's it.
 
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And since we're looking at the schedule, I don't see how people are saying that the schedule is too tough for 6 wins. (This year's record in parentheses)

WINNABLE GAMES:
vs. SUU (1-10)
vs. Arkansas State (8-4)
vs. SDSU (7-5)
vs. Hawaii (8-5)
vs. SJSU (1-11)
@ Vandy (6-6)
@ CSU (3-9)
@ Wyoming (6-6)
@ Reno (7-5)

LOSSES:
vs. Boise State (10-2)
@ Northwestern (8-4)
@ Fresno (10-2)

Having 9 winnable games on the slate is manageable. Sure, if we play like we did against UNM or SJSU that list shrinks drastically. But if the team can put together more games like we saw @ SDSU, @ Hawaii, and vs. Reno we've got plenty of opportunities to get 6.

My list is

Losses
Fresno
Vandy
Northwestern
Boise

Wins
SUU
Arkansas State
SJSU

Everything else is a toss up.
 
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And since we're looking at the schedule, I don't see how people are saying that the schedule is too tough for 6 wins. (This year's record in parentheses)

WINNABLE GAMES:
vs. SUU (1-10)
vs. Arkansas State (8-4)
vs. SDSU (7-5)
vs. Hawaii (8-5)
vs. SJSU (1-11)
@ Vandy (6-6)
@ CSU (3-9)
@ Wyoming (6-6)
@ Reno (7-5)

LOSSES:
vs. Boise State (10-2)
@ Northwestern (8-4)
@ Fresno (10-2)

Having 9 winnable games on the slate is manageable. Sure, if we play like we did against UNM or SJSU that list shrinks drastically. But if the team can put together more games like we saw @ SDSU, @ Hawaii, and vs. Reno we've got plenty of opportunities to get 6.

I never include close losses as a barometer of improvement.

By that logic you have to throw out close wins.

Somewhere in Reno or San Diego dudes are on a message board pointing to their close losses to us saying if we win that one we would have been.........
 
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I never include close losses as a barometer of improvement.

By that logic you have to throw out close wins.

Somewhere in Reno or San Diego dudes are on a message board pointing to their close losses to us saying if we win that one we would have been.........
I get why you would do that... I guess I'm not really giving him "credit" for close losses. What I'm trying to get at is I'm tired of having multiple conference games per year where we just get the doors blown off and don't stand a chance.

Yes, I get it that USU and Fresno were good teams this year. Maybe we aren't good enough to beat them. But can we get to the point where we at least have competitive games in the 4th quarter? I'm thinking of games against type-40-type schools.

If I'm looking at small steps of progress for a program as bad as ours has been the 4 logical steps are (30,000 foot perspective):

1- We get throttled by the top-40 opponents
2- We play competitive games against top-40 opponents
3- We start winning games against top-40 opponents
4- We are the top-40 opponent
 
My main question is when will a statement be made stating that he will be back next year? Similar to the USC announcement yesterday for their coach.

Tina extended him. He'll be back

What's the point. All it will do is fill up the RJ opinion section with people like me complaining he shouldn't be retained.

Saying nothing. Everybody forgets about how bad this season was, hopefully they buy season tickets again.

It's called the Ostrich technique. Stick your head in the sand and hope things go away.
 
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I get why you would do that... I guess I'm not really giving him "credit" for close losses. What I'm trying to get at is I'm tired of having multiple conference games per year where we just get the doors blown off and don't stand a chance.

Yes, I get it that USU and Fresno were good teams this year. Maybe we aren't good enough to beat them. But can we get to the point where we at least have competitive games in the 4th quarter? I'm thinking of games against type-40-type schools.

If I'm looking at small steps of progress for a program as bad as ours has been the 4 logical steps are (30,000 foot perspective):

1- We get throttled by the top-40 opponents
2- We play competitive games against top-40 opponents
3- We start winning games against top-40 opponents
4- We are the top-40 opponent

I hear you.You have realistic expectations.

Far more patience than I have at this point.

This seasons results turned me into the type of fan I've railed against for years. It took 20+ years of losing, but I finally broke. I'm jaded and cynical now.

I'm done with New Era! And GATA! and all the other catch phrases about changing the culture.

Tired of hearing about the obstacles here. Yes they exist. Nobody denies it, but now it's becoming a crutch.

Bowl in year 4!

Wait check that. It was always a six year plan!

This is the deepest team ever at UNLV!

2 injuries to the secondary later..

'Meh depth is a problem that's why we just gave up 50 to a SJSU team that was avg 21 a game.'.

Maybe UNLV and Sanchez new slogan should be..

'It's going to get better, maybe not next year or the year after and we won't promise the year after that either. Come to think of it the year after that is iffy, but rest assured it's going to get better'

Doesn't roll off the tongue and probably wouldn't fit on a shirt. It also makes a really shitty acronym:

'IGTGBMNNYOTYAWWPTYATECTTOITYATIIBRAIGTGB'

But it seems more fitting than New Era at this point.
 
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Keep an eye out for what Gripple is saying....again, I have no intel but it seems plausible. "High tides float every boat.."
 
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Keep an eye out for what Gripple is saying....again, I have no intel but it seems plausible. "High tides float every boat.."

He's not going anywhere.

Unless the AD has secured outside booster money Sanchez is safe and has been for sometime.

News like that rarely stays hidden. Somebody leaks.

That's not to say there haven't been inquiries but there just isn't enough money.

Plus factor in Menzies uncertainty.

There may be a former P5/NFL coach on the radar but it won't be this year.

It looks like the decision was made already.
 
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He's not going anywhere.

Unless the AD has secured outside booster money Sanchez is safe and has been for sometime.

News like that rarely stays hidden. Somebody leaks.

That's not to say there haven't been inquiries but there just isn't enough money.

Plus factor in Menzies uncertainty.

There may be a former P5/NFL coach on the radar but it won't be this year.

It looks like the decision was made already.

I hear what you're saying, Bull. Your logic is definitely is the same as mine...just keep an ear out.
As far as MM goes, unless he can bring another 10K fans to the games soon...the bleeding cannot continues.
 
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Tony Sanchez is a huge experiment as a successful high school coach that had 3 total year of experience at the FBS level in the mid-90s. He has been learning on the job.
Then he brought in a first time FBS coordinator this year that had to learn on the job.
They all have their backs against to wall playing enter the off-season with positive momentum.
I have been a critic but I ready to watch it play out next year. His success has to be graded on a curve.
 
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